The accompanying image is an accurate depiction of country singer Troy Cassar-Daley – a humble man who is never far away from his guitar.
Cassar-Daley has spent years on the road, touring his music and gathering inspiration for new songs.
His travels are as important to his music as the right lyrics or melody as they provide the backbones to the stories behind his songs.
Cassar-Daley will make an appearance in Wagga next month after more than five years away from this city.
“I’ve been trying to get back to some of the places I haven’t played for a while,” he said.
“The theatre is gorgeous but it’s the people … you just feel like you belong there.”
Cassar-Daley has gathered what he believes to be some interesting stories and has turned them into songs for his latest album, Freedom Ride.
They tell some poignant tales from life on the road, including Casssar-Daley’s encounter with a young miner from Western Australia who told stories of what it is really like to work on the mines and about his love of singer Jimmy Barnes.
Cassar-Daley did not catch the man’s name but the encounter was so powerful that the song, Two Weeks On, Two Weeks Off, was inspired by him.
He honoured the song’s origin by getting Jimmy Barnes to sing on the track with him for the finished album.
He wrote songs while driving in the car, recorded lyrics and melodies on his phone and is never too far from his guitar in case inspiration strikes.
“I’ve put more work into the characters and the story,” Cassar-Daley said.
“With country, we’ve always prided ourselves on the written word.”
The album reflects on his experiences shooting rabbits when he was eight years old and rural life as a child.
The 46-year-old music veteran has performed alongside some of the industry’s biggest names, released 12 albums, won Golden Guitars and had a career that’s lasted 20 years but said he still gets a kick out of seeing his audience jumping around.
Cassar-Daley will bring Freedom Ride to the Civic Theatre on August 13 from 8pm.
Tickets are available from 6926 9688.
